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PowerShell comes to MacOS and Linux. Oh and Windows too

PowerShell Core 6.0 arrives for your CLI-wielding pleasure

Microsoft has given the world new versions of PowerShell that bring the popular automation and scripting tool to MacOS and Linux.

PowerShell Core 6.0’s both an upgrade and a replacement for its predecessors.

It’s a replacement because Microsoft is no longer actively developing its predecessor, “Windows PowerShell”. That tool will be kept secure in future updates to Windows Server and Windows.

Those of you looking for future fun, by way of enhancements, need to adopt PowerShell Core. That moniker reflects the fact it runs with the .Net Core, rather than the Windows-only .NET framework.

The change has been made because Microsoft wants sysadmins to have one toolset to work with in whatever operating environment takes their fancy. That idea’s fuelled by Redmond’s belief that in a hybrid cloud world there’s every chance you’ll wrangle Windows or Linux servers from a Mac or penguin-powered machines. Or even a Windows PC.

Microsoft has listed the new features of PowerShell Core 6.0 here. Among the interesting additions are Docker support, sensitivity to the fact that MacOS and Linux filesystems can handle file names that Windows chokes on, SSH remoting and dozens of new cmdlets.

Among some curiosities Microsoft has noted is an unsupported version of the tool for Windows on ARM and another for Rasbpian. There’s also a warning that Linux users may need to do a fresh install of version 6.0 rather than upgrade.

And just to confuse matters, while version 6.0 is the latest and greatest, Microsoft also offers PowerShell Core 5.0 and 5.1 with its Nano Server.

PowerShell Core 6.0 for Windows can be found here, and for MacOS and Linux here. ®

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